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Vehicle-to-vehicle communication can eliminate accidents

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chairman David Strickland told an audience at the SAE World Congress Thursday in Detroit that the time for vehicle-to-vehicle communication has come in all vehicles. Strickland noted that the NHTSA is considering 2013 regulations that will make the safe driving technology mandatory.

Baseline for accident prevention

Strickland speculated that the creation of a “baseline communication system” of safe driving technology would save “tens of billions” of dollars annually via the prevention of traffic accidents.

“Our research shows that these technologies could help prevent a majority of the collisions that typically occur in the real world, such as rear-end collisions, intersection crashes, or collisions while switching lanes,” said Strickland.

‘Awe-inspiring’ technology

The U.S. Transportation Department is currently using 2,800 vehicles in and around Ann Arbor, Mich., to test vehicle-to-vehicle communication systems that automakers could make standard as early as summer 2013.

However, Scott McCormick of the Connected Vehicle Trade Association believes that the legislation-making process alone could take at least two years. McCormick believes the initial stages will focus on mandating vehicle-to-vehicle communication solely for safety messages. By 2020, McCormick believes that one quarter of all vehicles on U.S. roads will have the most highly-integrated autonomic safety systems.

Reading intention

Hideki Hada, general manager of integrated vehicle system at Toyota Technical Center, told The Detroit News that vehicle-to-vehicle technology in its ultimate form will truly be able to read the intention of nearby vehicles and plot a course of action that will maintain safety. Such advances have been realized in tests at Ann Arbor, and Hada hopes that “final confirmation (will show) that the entire system works.”

Eliminating 80 percent of crashes

Vehicle-to-vehicle technology could eliminate as much as 80 percent of known vehicle crash types involving non-impaired drivers, according to the NHTSA’s findings.

“We need to make sure we get things right before a final decision is made on whether to go forward with a regulation,” Strickland said.